Anglicize

Anglicize, or Anglicize, is the process of making something English in form, sound, or usage. It can refer to adapting foreign words, names, or practices to English orthography, pronunciation, or grammatical patterns, as well as broader cultural assimilation toward English-speaking norms. The term is used across linguistics, literary studies, history, and cultural discourse.

Etymology derives from the word English (Angl- being a form of England) plus the common English suffix -ize. The concept describes how elements from non-English languages or cultures are transformed to fit English conventions, though it does not imply complete replacement of the original form.

Anglicization occurs in several overlapping domains. Orthographic anglicization enlarges or simplifies spellings to match English habits, such as rendering foreign proper names and terms in familiar English letters. Phonetic anglicization changes local pronunciations to resemble English phonology. Semantic anglicization involves substituting English equivalents for non-English terms. In addition, cultural anglicization denotes broader shifts in practices, institutions, or identities toward English-speaking norms.

Typical examples include place names and personal names. Historical exonyms such as Peking for Beijing or Florence for Firenze illustrate orthographic and phonetic adaptation. In contemporary usage, many publishers and institutions prefer endonyms or internationally recognized spellings, while others retain traditional Anglicized forms. City names are a common site of change, as illustrated by the shift from Kiev to Kyiv or from Moscow to Moskva in some contexts, reflecting evolving editorial standards and local naming conventions.

Anglicization remains a contested topic in multilingual societies, balancing clarity for broad audiences with respect for linguistic diversity and local identity.